PACCAR Engine Company’s plant in Lowndes County laid off a round of employees Tuesday, Golden Triangle LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins confirmed.
Higgins said he received a “heads up” from the company about the layoffs, though he could not confirm how many employees were affected.
“I was not told the numbers, but there were some layoffs,” Higgins said. “… Nobody has given me any reason for the layoffs.”
Ken Hastings, senior director of investor relations for PACCAR, declined to comment when reached Wednesday.
An employee who was laid off and spoke to The Dispatch on the condition of anonymity said she was given a “call back time of 12 months,” during which time she could be offered her job back. She was told that after 12 months, she would have to reapply.
The Dispatch could not confirm this policy with the company.
In a press release issued Tuesday in conjunction with a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, PACCAR reported net income of $723.8 million earned company-wide in the second quarter of 2025, compared to $1.12 billion earned in the same period last year.
The press release addressed challenges in the international company’s North American market.
“The North American truck market is being affected by economic conditions, the uncertain impact of tariffs, and a soft truckload market,” the release said. “Customer demand in the less-than-truckload and vocational segments, including construction, is good.”
PACCAR laid off 250 employees at the company’s Quebec plant in December, according to media reports. The Quebec plant also plans to lay off at least 175 workers on Aug. 4.
In August 2024, layoffs at the Kenworth Truck Company plant in Chillicothe, Ohio, reportedly impacted between 300 and 400 employees. PACCAR is the parent corporation of Kenworth.
Despite news of layoffs, Higgins said he still expects a $209 million expansion at the Lowndes County plant to go forward. The project includes construction of a new remanufacturing facility and upgrades to its current production line and is projected to add 100 jobs at the plant.
“It is supposed to open up later on this year, and I’ve not heard anything to the contrary,” Higgins said. “There are contractors out there working on it right now.”
Earlier this year, The Dispatch reported the Lowndes County plant employed 950 workers.
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